La Bomba Edwin Rodriguez is tough and classy act

Edwin Rodriguez may have been fighting one of the biggest bouts of his career on Saturday before a worldwide pay-per-view television audience, but the women in his life had some laundry to do.

At the Rodriguez household in Worcester, while the male friends and relatives gathered around the big-screen TV in the basement, Edwin's wife, mother and mother-in-law busied themselves upstairs.

His mother prayed aloud in Spanish for a full 10 rounds. His pregnant wife, Stephanie, put away her children's laundry while her mother tidied the kids' closets.

Not until they heard a huge roar from the basement — a clear signal that La Bomba had won the fight against previously undefeated Ezequiel Maderna — did the women rush downstairs to join the emotional celebration and finally watch the bout themselves.

“I was too nervous,” Stephanie said Monday, seated on the couch next to her victorious but tired hubby, who had returned from Monte Carlo the night before. “I was trying to stay busy and as calm as possible. I didn't want to end up in the hospital.”

It was no idle concern. Already hospitalized twice with pre-term labor, Stephanie is due to give birth to the couple's third child, a boy, by cesarean section April 15. Edwin and Stephanie are also the parents of 6-year-old twins who were born at just 23 weeks and face developmental challenges; both Serena and Edwin Jr. have cerebral palsy, and Edwin Jr. also has autism.

Before deciding to have a third child, the couple met with doctors who specialize in high-risk births and were assured that another pregnancy would pose no unusual risk.

“We're gonna have a healthy boy,” Edwin said with a wide grin. “Everything's coming together and it feels amazing. ... I'm tired. I'm sore. My eyes are swollen. But I'm happy.”

He has every reason to be. Three months after his son is born, the 27-year-old USBA super middleweight champion will return to Monte Carlo July 13 for a lucrative $1 million final against 30-year-old Denis Grachev. The winner will get 60 percent of the purse, and a possible shot at a title bout.

Edwin earned $175,000 from his last fight, which featured a scary moment in the eighth round after Edwin caught his opponent in the crotch with a hard left uppercut, and risked disqualification. Instead, one point was deducted and he went on to win a unanimous decision. In an interview from the ring, he offered a sheepish apology to Maderna and the crowd.

“It won't happen again,” he said, also bowing to the prince and princess of Monaco at ringside.

It's that affable and down-to-earth sincerity that makes Edwin so popular, both in and out of the ring. With a 23-0 record, he has yet to lose a professional fight. But he remembers a loss as an amateur, as well as a setback in 2006 when he failed to make the U.S. Olympic team because of the birth of the twins.

“I'm not planning to lose this time,” he said. “I know what it feels like, and I don't want to feel like that again.”

Added Stephanie, “Edwin is the most competitive person I've ever known. Even at family gatherings, he'll get games going — volleyball, ping pong, pool, chess. He has to win.”

For now, Edwin plans to relax with his family and await the birth of his son. In May he returns to training camp in Houston to prepare for his next fight. Stephanie hopes to accompany her husband to Monte Carlo, perhaps with the new baby and possibly the twins. A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, she obtained a master's degree last year and works as a coordinator at Chandler Elementary Community School.